Issue 2005-49: December 6, 2005
This newsletter is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry, and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly, and notes information mostly about the use of the Internet and related technologies in the industry. Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.
Policy and Product Management
Assumption Life Selects SunGard's COMPASS for Group Retirement and Segregated Funds.
Miami, FL - SunGard today announced that Assumption Life has selected COMPASS, SunGard's enterprise group benefit administration system. Assumption Life will use COMPASS as a 'single-source' solution that will deliver strategic product development, billing/collections and administration support to help manage Assumption Life's group and individual pension and segregated funds in Canada.
i-flex to provide next-generation insurance solution based on components from Castek to Tokio Marine Management.
Mumbai, November 7, 2005 - i-flex® solutions, a leading provider of enterprise solutions to the global financial services industry, today announced that Tokio Marine Management Inc (TMM) has awarded i-flex a letter of offer to replace TMM's legacy policy processing platform with a solution comprising best-of-breed components. TMM is the manager for the US insurance operations of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co Ltd. (Japan), Japan's oldest and largest property and casualty insurer.
eBusiness and Technology
"Great Deeds are Usually Wrought at Great Risks": Peter Symons, OARBIC, Part 1 of 2.
The Greek historian and traveler, Herodotus, proclaimed the above in 450BC. My guess is he wasn't running an IT project at the time or he would have added "Great Deeds usually succeed if Great Risks are managed". The question is of course, how do you manage risks? There are thousands upon thousands of articles, sample spreadsheets, sample processes etc. all devoted to measuring and managing risk.
Ipsos Reid National On-Line Study: Companies Not Spending Enough On Business Intelligence Activities.
November 24, 2005 - Vancouver, BC - According to a national online study of over 500 business decision-makers1 conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) and EDS, business intelligence (BI) activities received mediocre scores in terms of companies' overall performance and involvement. The study shows that while overall awareness of various business intelligence components ranges from medium to high among BI decision-makers and business executives, existing BI activities are fairly limited in practice, and require more resources and attention in the future.
ISO: Nanotechnology to have dramatic impact on the insurance industry's future assessment of policies and payment of claims.
Nanotechnology will affect the future of the insurance industry with both positive and negative implications, according to Jack Uldrich, president of The NanoVeritas Group, in his keynote address at ISOTech 2005 held in Las Vegas. He explained to almost 800 senior insurers and claims adjusters from across the U.S. how nanotechnology would increase the durability of materials, enabling them to withstand greater pressure from hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes and thus reduce the damage caused to property and ultimately the payout that insurers will have to make.
Claims
MS/B Offers On-Line IntegriClaim Renewal.
NEW BERLIN, WI November 29, 2005 - Marshall and Swift / Boeckh (MS/B), the worldwide provider of building cost data and estimating technology to the property insurance industry, announces the ability for current IntegriClaimTM users to renew their IntegriClaim registrations on-line with a credit card.
Property/Casualty Insurers Expected to Pay Wilma Victims $6.1 Billion - Insured Catastrophe Losses Now at Record $50.3 Billion, says ISO's Property Claim Services.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., Nov. 28 - U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay an estimated $6.1 billion to Florida policyholders for insured property losses from Hurricane Wilma, pushing year-to-date catastrophe losses to $50.3 billion an all-time record, according to preliminary analysis by ISO's Property Claim Services (PCS) unit.
Business of Insurance
AXA Canada to Acquire The Citadel General Assurance Company.
Montreal, November 29, 2005 - AXA Canada announced today it has entered into an agreement to buy Winterthur Canada Financial Corporation, whose main asset is The Citadel General Assurance Company ("Citadel"). The acquisition is subject to various conditions, including the approval of Canadian regulatory authorities. Consideration will be ca. CAD$310 million. The acquisition will be financed internally by the AXA Group.
The Co-operators CEO to Chair International Co-operative and Mutual Insurance Federation.
GUELPH, ON, Nov. 29, 2005 - The Co-operators President and CEO Kathy Bardswick has been elected Chair of the International Co-operative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF). She was elected for a four-year term by the Board of Directors at ICMIF's recent biennial conference in Singapore.
Consumer Information
Home fire safety : plan now for a safe holiday season.
Candle-related fires go up 140% over the Christmas period. Taking the time to use your safety sense can prevent a disaster.
SGI: New amendments target impaired drivers.
Nov. 22, 2005 - SGI has furthered its commitment to making Saskatchewan roads safer by introducing amendments to The Traffic Safety Act. The amendments come into force when The Traffic Safety Act is proclaimed in 2006.
Distribution
2005 Distinction Award for Federation and Missisquoi Insurance.
On Friday, November 4, 2005 at the closing Gala of the annual RCCAQ (Regroupement des cabinets de courtage d'assurance du Québec) Convention, Federation and Missisquoi Insurance (member companies of The Economical Insurance Group) were proud to be awarded the 2005 Distinction Award for Insurer of the Year.
Marketing and the Market Place
PricewaterhouseCoopers Finds 50% More Companies Report Financial Losses Since 2003.
New York/London - 29 NOV 2005 - Rising economic crime poses a growing threat to companies, with nearly half of all organisations worldwide being victims of fraud in the past two years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Economic Crime Survey 2005. The number of companies reporting fraud increased from 37 percent to 45 percent since 2003, a 22 percent increase. The cost to companies was an average US$1.7 million in losses from "tangible frauds," those which result in an immediate and direct financial loss. These include asset misappropriation, false pretences and counterfeiting.
Education and Training
LOMA and Kaplan Financial Align to Provide Comprehensive Online Learning Catalog in Financial Services.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA November 16, 2005-LOMA, through which more than 1,200 international insurance and financial services companies engage in research and educational activities to improve company operations, has formed an alliance with Kaplan Financial. Kaplan Financial is a leading source of education and compliance solutions for insurance and financial services institutions and individuals. LOMA and Kaplan Financial will now offer select courses from Kaplan's online catalog through LOMALearn Online, LOMA's growing e-Learning portal for individual and corporate learning management.
Managing Relationships and Customer Service
International Financial Data Services Drives Customer Service With KANA.
MENLO PARK, Calif. - November 28, 2005 - KANA Software Inc. (Pinksheets: KANA.PK), a leading provider of service resolution management (SRM) solutions, today announced that International Financial Data Services (UK) (IFDS), an award-winning provider of investor record keeping solutions for unit trusts, OEICs, PEPs, ISAs and Pensions, is implementing KANA IQ in a drive to further increase the effectiveness of its contact center. IFDS handles up to 6,000 calls every day in its contact center, from the customers of some of the most well-known investment managers and distributors in the UK.
from Doug:
My spouse is just back from an Opera tour to Berlin and Dresden. I think she enjoyed the museums and churches as much as the operas, but they were all good. She was surprised that the sun set by about 4:00 in the afternoon. But, Berlin is in the eastern part of the time zone and has a latitude about the middle of James Bay, so not surprising. Also, when there, they were less than three weeks from the day of the year with the least daylight hours, which says that the Christmas season is now in full swing and in four weeks we will be into 2006. I hope you are "into" your season, and wish you and yours the best of it.